January 30, 2020
Dear Milwaukee 2020 Board of Directors:
We write to inform you of our experiences with the President and Chief of Staff of
Milwaukee 2020 with the hope that an unwavering change will be made. There is not
a HR department for us to turn to and therefore we understand that all principal
decisions are in the hands of the Board.
Adam Alonso has consistently bullied and intimidated staff members, but of note is
that this is primarily directed at the women on staff. Resulting in a culture that
coddles male senior advisors and consultants who have no clear role or clear lines of
management. His mismanagement of the Host Committee, enabled by Liz Gilbert,
has created a toxic and unstable working environment that we will not allow to
continue.
The office culture is toxic and insular to Adam and Liz, which discourages honest
feedback and discourse. This has significantly impacted staff morale resulting in a
fear of retribution and lack of trust among not only senior but junior staff as well.
Since November, complaints of this nature were brought to the attention of Liz
Gilbert, who has gone on to defend him. Our challenges have been entirely
dismissed.
To-date, one of us has decided to leave the organization and several junior women
have approached us distraught and fearful, not knowing where else to turn.
Please reach out if needed.
Thank you in advance for reading.
Warmly,
Senior women from the Host Committee